<?php
/**
 * <https://y.st./>
 * Copyright © 2015 Alex Yst <mailto:copyright@y.st>
 * 
 * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
 * (at your option) any later version.
 * 
 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
 * GNU General Public License for more details.
 * 
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 * along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org./licenses/>.
**/

$xhtml = array(
	'title' => 'They want note from my mother!?',
	'body' => <<<END
<p>
	Today my brother and I set out for South Coast Ilwu Credit Union, the credit union my sister and I tried to go to two days ago.
	We got there half an hour before they opened, so we had some time to rest.
	When it opened, we found out that membership is only available to members of workers&apos; unions in the area and their family members.
	I had forgotten that credit unions have arbitrary membership requirements such as these.
	Luckily, my mother had mentioned having to join the teachers&apos; union a few days ago, so I knew she was a member of that.
	I told the representative that our mother was a member of the teachers&apos; union, and we moved to the next step: asking about fees.
	It turns out that while I could join that credit union, withdrawing from a savings account too many times causes fees to be charged.
	Furthermore, starting a checking account, which has no such restrictions attached, costs \$100 $a[USD].
	I found this to be unreasonable, so I thanked the representative for her time and we left.
</p>
<p>
	We went to the next-closest credit union, which was a long way from home: Oregon First Community Credit Union.
	Once we got there, the representative told me that none of the specific fees I asked about existed at that credit union, and transfered me to a higher-level representative to create my account.
	This representative said that my old residence did not meet this credit union&apos;s residency requirements and I would have to prove my new address to them.
	After all, my state-issued $a[ID] says I live in Springfield.
	She updated my record at the $a[DMV] to use my new address, which I didn&apos;t even know she could do.
	I asked her about it, and it seems that anyone having my $a[DMV] $a[ID] number and my date of birth, both of which she got from looking at my $a[ID], can update my $a[DMV] $a[ID] record.
	That&apos;s kind of scary, but now the $a[DMV] will supposedly be sending me a correction sticker to put on my $a[ID] to amend my address.
	After talking a while, I explained that I do not receive mail under my legal name, so I would not be able to use a letter to my house as proof of anything concerning my legal identity.
	She asked about bank statements, and I explained that all my statements are sent by email, not postal mail.
	I asked if I could send her one of the credit card statements to her email box, but she said that the representatives are unable to accept outside email.
	However, she said that if I went and printed it out, I could use it as proof of my new address.
	She was also unsure if the account could be created since I don&apos;t have a telephone number, but said she would talk to her boss about it while I went out to find a printer.
</p>
<p>
	Next, we headed down to the public library, which was an entirely different direction from home that the credit union.
	On the way there, we saw a pawn shop with bicycles out front.
	One was missing a chain, but was only \$25 $a[USD]! My bicycle with the bent wheel has a working chain, so between the two of them, I might be able to get a working bike.
	I may be back to buy this bike later.
	
</p>
<p>
	Finally, we made it to the library.
	There, I learned that printing cost \$0.2 $a[USD] per sheet.
	I sat down at one of the computers, and to my delight, the machine was running Ubuntu! I mean, Ubuntu is no Debian, it&apos;s full of proprietary gunk, but it&apos;s <strong>*way*</strong> better than the Windows operating system I expected to see.
	Unfortunately, like Debian, does not seem to have the software needed to speak with mobile devices installed by default.
	And like any Debian-based system, the administrative password would have been needed in order to install it.
	I ended up downloading the run-in-place Tor Browser Bundle, using it to access the Discover website, and copying my password by hand from the KeePassX/KeePassDroid database on my mobile to log in.
	I though the statement was four pages long, and I thought I would only need the first page which had my address on it, but for added authenticity, I printed the whole thing.
	If the credit union wanted more, I didn&apos;t want to have to come back to the library.
	It turns out that the $a[PDF] credit card statement was longer than I thought it was in my hasty glance over the document.
	It was actually six pages long, though the librarian gave me the last page gratis due to it having only one line of text on it.
</p>
<p>
	While I was there, I decided to ask about the requirements for getting a library card there.
	I&apos;m going to be in the area a while, so it might be nice to be able to check out books sometimes.
	She said I needed proof of address and photo $a[ID], but nothing else.
	I showed her the credit card statement that she had just sold me as proof of address, along with my state-issued $a[ID] card, and she gave me a form to fill out.
	She was surprised that I don&apos;t have a telephone number, but this did not prevent her from opening the account for me.
	She mentioned that I might want to insert my middle initial in the signature spot on the library card due to there already being a client with my first and last name on record, but that I didn&apos;t have to.
	I added it, then replied that I wasn&apos;t too concerned and I don&apos;t even go by my legal name anyway.
	She asked about the name I use, which I gave her, and she asked if I wanted that name on the account.
	Surprised that she could do this, I happily accepted, but it turns out my legal name is on the account too.
	Additionally, she was not able to use my preferred last name.
	My library account now has me listed as &quot;Yst {legal last name}&quot;.
	No worries though, that&apos;s more than I had dared hope for, and I care more about the name &quot;Yst&quot; than the name &quot;Dawson&quot;.
</p>
<p>
	Though not relevant to much today, I do have a few more notes about the library.
	They sell $a[USB] drives, for one thing.
	This got me thinking about my own $a[USB] drives at home.
	Normally, I can&apos;t use my own $a[USB] drives away from home.
	The problem is that other peoples&apos; computers run Windows, which cannot read ext4 file systems.
	It&apos;s bad enough that $a[FAT] file systems are known for fragmentation and file corruption.
	However, what I really can&apos;t stand is $a[FAT]&apos;s complete lack of case sensitivity.
	This is something that I will not tolerate in a file system.
	As a result, I end up with removable media ($a[USB] drives, $a[SD] cards, et cetera) that work only on computers that can read ext4 file systems.
	But the library is using Ubuntu on its machines.
	Than means that while they may not be able to read files off my mobile (due to lack of installed software, not a flaw in Ubuntu), they <strong>*can*</strong> read my $a[USB] drives from home! If I know I will need a file at the library, I can prepare by transferring it to a $a[USB] drive.
	Second, they also sell blank $a[CD]s, though I wouldn&apos;t know what to do with those.
	I mean, I know how to burn them, I just don&apos;t know why I would want to in most cases.
	The final thing that the library sells is ear buds.
	They refuse to lend any out; they have posted a notice explaining that they can&apos;t do this as multiple people using the same ear buds is not safe.
	This is of no consequence to me, as I can&apos;t stand having sound directly in my ear like that anyway, but it amuses me none the less.
	Speaking of lending objects otherwise for sale, the library does lend $a[USB] drives for in-library use only.
	As for the library&apos;s actual book-lending services, it seems that all the libraries in Coos County are interconnected.
	Using one library card, you may borrow a book from one library and return it at another.
	Likewise, you may check out books at the local collage&apos;s library with that same card.
	As one final note, the desktop used by the library computers is Mate.
	I don&apos;t have any strong opinions about Mate, but it&apos;s a reasonable desktop under a reasonable license.
</p>
<p>
	In what felt to me like the longest leg of our journey, my brother and I headed back to Oregon First Community Credit Union.
	Once there, I sat down with a representative to get the account set up, though it was a different representative than last time.
	This representative said that I could not use the credit card statement as proof of address.
	Instead, I would need to get a note from my mother that included my address, her telephone number, the fact that I live at this address, and her signature.
	Really? Really!? This representative would not accept a credit card statement from a well-known bank (Discover), but <strong>*would*</strong> accept a note from my mother? First of all, I&apos;m old enough to flash my $a[ID] and legally buy alcohol (not that I&apos;ve ever done that).
	I&apos;m certainly old enough not to need my mother to write me notes for things or even be involved in setting up my financial accounts.
	Not to mention the obvious flaw in such a setup: I could forge the note myself.
	With the credit card statement, there&apos;s a lot more trustworthiness than a note from a parent.
	I tried explaining this, but the representative was adamant.
	With clear frustration, I thanked her for her time, and said that I was not going to be bringing a note from my mother, and that if that is what it took, I would seek an account elsewhere.
	She actually recommended Sterling, which I&apos;m fairly certain is a bank! Why would a credit union representative be recommending a bank? She next said that if I changed my mind, to come back with the parental note, so I explained again that I refused to involve my mother in setting up my financial accounts, thanked her for her time again, and left.
</p>
<p>
	At this point, I was exhausted.
	I had been walking all day.
	I mulled over the parental note idea a bit, but reached two conclusions.
	First, if any telephone number is needed, be that mine or my mother&apos;s, I&apos;ve chosen the wrong financial institution.
	The telephone number system is a pile of rubbish, and I will not buy into it needlessly.
	If this parental note requires my mother&apos;s telephone number to be valid, it is not a viable option for me.
	Second, what happens if I <strong>*do*</strong> bring back a parental note? It&apos;s quite obvious that such a note is not really good for anything.
	I would be wasting a third trip to the credit union with almost certainly nothing to show for it.
	There&apos;s no point in this.
	Utterly defeated, I decided to try a bank.
	The problem with banks is that they don&apos;t care about their customers.
	They just want to make money.
	That said, it&apos;s also their strength in this case.
	A bank doesn&apos;t have idiotic membership requirements usually.
	If the bank would not accept the credit card statement as proof of my current address, they almost certainly would accept the address on my state-issued $a[ID], not caring that I supposedly live far from the place I plan to do my banking.
	If I was going to break down and choose a bank instead of a credit union, there were two obvious choices.
	Bank of America and Banner Bank are both a lot closer to my house than any credit union.
	Days ago, I went into both of these institutions trying to get them to make change for me.
	Bank of America refused on the grounds that I didn&apos;t have an account with them, and despite my explaining that I had issues with Bank of America last time I had an account with them, they tried to get me to register a new account without addressing my concerns.
	In fact, they just brushed off my concerns as if they were nothing.
	Banner Bank on the other hand, made change for me without hassle.
	Aside from this single interaction with them, I have no experience with them whatsoever.
	So I chose Banner Bank.
</p>
<p>
	Hoping that this would be the last stop before we headed home, I stopped in Banner Bank.
	The representative that helped me asked why I had chosen Banner Bank, so I explained how my day had gone very briefly.
	She assured me that Banner Bank would cause me no such hassles.
	Everything seemed to be going fine, but then she got to the dreaded question: <q>What is your telephone number?</q> I explained that I haven&apos;t had telephone service in about six months.
	She said that the only thing the telephone number is needed for is the debit card, and that if there were any questionable purchases with it, they would need to reach me by telephone.
	If I had no number, the bank would be forced to shut off the card in such a situation, as they would be unable to reach me.
	I explained that I don&apos;t spend from a debit card; that I pay in cash-only except when online, where I use my credit card.
	Likewise, I explained that I like my privacy, so my credit card doesn&apos;t even have my legal name.
	As she had told me that the debit card issued by the bank she represented would be required to have my legal name on it, I explained that I couldn&apos;t even use my Banner Bank debit card for online purchases.
	I said that if it would be easier for her, she didn&apos;t need to issue the debit card at all, as I wouldn&apos;t be able to make use of it anyway.
	This didn&apos;t seem to satisfy her, but at the same time, she didn&apos;t want to turn me away.
	I don&apos;t know if my tired look and story of my frustrating day played into this, but she wanted to do what she could to make this work, and didn&apos;t want me to go without a debit card, saying that the debit card could be used to retrieve cash from any $a[ATM], even if I prefer to pay for merchandise using cash.
	After talking to her boss, she got the account set up, saying that my debit card would come in the mail.
	Unfortunately, the checking accounts at banner bank gain no interest.
	The saving accounts gain very little interest, and come with the stipulation that they cost money to maintain unless \$25 $a[USD] is automatically transfered from checking to savings each month.
	The counter-productive part of this is that it means that a customer cannot put all their money into savings, though the point seems to be to get people to put money into savings.
</p>
<p>
	At some point during the process, we had discussed the fact that United States telephone numbers in the format XXX-555-01XX are dead numbers, so she may have used one of those numbers to set up the account.
	She, like many people, had thought that <strong>*all*</strong> numbers in the XXX-555-XXXX range are dead numbers, but this hasn&apos;t been the case for a while.
	Most of these numbers have become assignable now, and I think it&apos;s because we&apos;re running out of available telephone numbers.
	This is just one more reason we need to move away from the telephone number system to something more flexible, such as $a[SIP] addressing.
</p>
<p>
	Today Oregon First Community Credit Union decided to be unreasonable, and they lost a customer.
	Banner Bank decided to be reasonable, and gained one.
	I&apos;ve lost faith in banks, and would have much preferred a credit union, but the fact is, I need a place to deposit paychecks and avoid paycheck-cashing fees.
	If things go wrong at Banner Bank, there is an unfortunate likelihood that I will go back to Oregon First Community Credit Union despite the hassles they caused.
	By then, I will probably have the letter containing the $a[ID]-amending sticker from the $a[DMV] and the letter containing the debit card from Banner Bank, both ow which might work as proof of residency.
	But for now, as long as Banner Bank wants to play nicely, there is a very strong chance I will stay with Banner Bank for a long while, potentially as long as I remain here in Coos Bay.
</p>
<p>
	I do not have Internet service at my home and cannot update my <a href="/a/canary.txt">warrant canary</a>.
</p>
END
);
